Now that I'm having to deal with less shenanigans on a daily basis, there hasn't been as many stories to update this blog with. So to catch up with the last few weeks, I'll be combining several days into one entry, primarily focusing on none other than, food.
Day 10, Mon, June 23, 2014
I have the option of getting catered meals at work, but haven't really taken advantage of it till this week. Strangely enough, I really enjoy these meals since they're 1. Filipino local food, 2. like a home cooked meal and 3. allowing me bond with coworkers over the lunch hour. Each morning, mana (the helper in Tagalog) swings by my desk and asks what I want to order for the day. She's a really sweet older Filipino lady and is always smiling at me. I think it's because she thought I was Filipina as well. She has a list of items to choose from and I have to ask her to read them to me each day since most of the items don't have a direct English translation nor do I know what all of the dishes are. Each day, we're allowed to choose 2 meals, which essentially means 2 dishes. Each meal comes with a side of rice (because this is Asia), a choice of beverage (juice, chocolate milk, or soda), and sometimes an option for fruit. Both Mana and Shiela, one of the ABS-2 engineers, are really helpful. When it's time for me to pick up my food, they always get me a plate, fork, spoon and a clean glass. I can hear everyone back home saying, oh man, what a princess. But to be fair, I've tried many times to tell them that I can get it on my own, but they insist. Oh and knives don't really exist here. Filipinos eat all of their meals with spoons and forks. Because apparently a fork is sufficient for cutting into meat, fish and whatever else you may need a knife for...I still haven't mastered cutting with a fork yet.
So for all of the skeptics out there, this next photo will prove that I am indeed out here for work, and not just an extended vacation. This is my obligatory nerd shot.
What you can't tell in this photo is how sweltering hot it is outside. Call me weak sauce, but 80% humidity and 85 deg (but feels like 93 deg according to the weather app on my iPhone) is no joke!
Before hitting up dinner on Monday night, I was able to get in a workout. Again, I can't do more than 10 minutes of running on the treadmill because it's just way too hot, even inside the gym with the AC on. Story of my life here in the Philippines. Brooke's will be my gym for the next month or so. And naturally, I'm trying to work out as much as possible to offset the insane amount of food I'm consuming.
After the gym, I headed to Sakura again for dinner. I was determined to get uni this time. To my luck, it was available! So I ordered 2 pieces of uni nigiri along with a shoyu ramen (including a soft-boiled egg). My meal included a complimentary palette cleanser, which I can't really recall what it was, but here it is.
So this is what the uni looked like. I've only had uni in the states, but pretty sure it should be more orange than brown wouldn't you agree? But that didn't stop me. I ate it anyway. It was decent execpt for the piece of sand I found in one of them. Note to self, put uni on the no-go list.
I was really looking forward to my first bowl of ramen since I arrived in the Philippines. Sadly, like the uni, it was disappointing. The broth didn't have much flavor and the noodles were not the authentic noodles I'm used to from home. The best part of this dish was the soft-boiled egg. But where's the other half?
Day 11, Tue, June 24, 2014
Today we had some folks for KISI in town at work. So we went out to lunch at Extremely Espresso, a cafe in Subic that is known for their NY-style pizza, as well as their coffee of course. I got to meet one of the senior engineers along with the VP of KISI. Not a bad deal networking with other folks in the industry and getting a paid lunch out of it as well. It's a shame that they don't sell pizza here by the slice, because I'd be tempted to come here a lot more often. Oh, and I got a mango shake to go with the pizza because I cannot get enough of those sweet mango smoothies! Those mangos are like crack here!
After lunch, we dropped off the KISI guys at their hotel in SBMA, which happens to be the Lighthouse Marina. I'll be staying at the Lighthouse during the last 2 weeks of my stay here in Subic. According to TripAdvisor, it's the #1 ranked hotel in Subic Bay. I'm going to keep my expectations low though, because if the past few weeks have been an indication of what's to come, it's taught me to expect the unexpected. As we were dropping them off, I noticed this van parked on the side. "It's more fun-tastic in Subic". Something tells me that the word fun here really means unsafe or with less rules and therefore, more "fun". They should really have a disclaimer that says "surf at your own risk".
And because I didn't have enough food at lunch already, I stopped by Starbucks after lunch for more coffee. This time I tried a new drink. Iced coffee with jelly. The jelly was a harder yet chewy syrup tasting jelly. It was a little too sweet for my taste but I'm all for trying out new experiences. Is this drink only sold in the Philippines? Do they have boba at the Starbucks in other parts of Asia?
On my drive home today, I was able to see the bat show near the airport. I haven't been able to catch a photo of the bats when they're dormant, but today they were in full effect. It's a little hard to see in the photo, but focus on the middle of the photo. So to sum of what I've seen so far on my drive to work: goats, monkeys, horses and bats (oh my). What's next?
Since I was too full for dinner, and dessert is totally a different stomach, I stopped by Chow King after hitting the gym. According to all of the locals here, Chow King (an Asian fast-food chain) has the best halo-halo. Since I hadn't seen or tasted any halo-halo since I got here, I was determined to find some. And that I did. This one included ube ice cream, yellow and red beans, condensed milk, shaved ice, green jelly and a few pieces of jackfruit. All I have to say is why do you gottta skimp on the jackfruit huh? It's not like it's my favorite fruit in the world or anything. Typical Asian thing to do. Fill the cup with a ton of ice and cheap stuff, and skimp on the good sh*t.
Day 12, Wed Jun 25th, 2014
Today the highlight of work was eating durian. If you're not familiar with this fruit, it's a very spiky, potent smelling fruit grown in the tropical regions of SE Asia. Most people can't stand the smell of this fruit, and there's a select few like myself, who are lovers. Second to jackfruit, durian is my favorite fruit. I swear this is a genetic trait since my entire family loves the smell and taste of durian. In any case, some people at work had never tried durian before, so they bought it at the local market and brought it in to try. But you do NOT want to open this fruit indoors, or the place will smell like it for days! Days I tell ya! So instead, they opened it out back near the antennas because that's much safer...Both Mike and Natalia (former SSL lady now part of ABS) tried it and hated it. I was like, great, more for me! I've been known to like very weird food items. I attribute this unique trait to my upbringing. I grew up in a pretty traditional Chinese Vietnamese household, so I've been exposed to most of these exotic fruits and foods in my childhood and are not put off by them. Instead of running away from these items, I am first to have at them. Disclaimer for those who indulge in too much of it at once though, like garlic, it will stay in your system for awhile, and after any burp, you're guaranteed to get that wonderful durian scent in your mouth. Lovely.
And no, I didn't have this entire piece. I was good and kept to a more modest portion (not that anyone would be fighting me for it). And I totally wore yellow on purpose to match the durian..
So since it was a Wednesday, it was time for trivia night again at Paddy's. This time I placed third. Score! And this was my prize. Local "Rhum". The fact that rum has an "h" in it is not sketchy at all. Like the other winners, I kept this bottle at the bar to share with others since it was likely I wouldn't be having any of that stuff anytime soon.
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